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Life is too short to eat bad food! Sharing great recipes, farm life, stories and photography from our Northern California dairy farm.

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Showing posts with label dairy farms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dairy farms. Show all posts

January 22, 2014

Our Move to Clover Stornetta

At one time, there were 200 dairies in all of Marin County.  That was 64 years ago in 1950. Today, Marin County has dwindled down to 27 dairies.  Our family farm, George Grossi & Son Dairy, is one of the remaining few but not without a lot of sacrifice and love for dairy farming and the lifestyle that comes with it. Like many of the remaining dairies in our area,  a few of the adjustments we've had to make over the years include building new free-stall barns and updating our calf barn to help contain all manure produced here on the farm, year-round and to keep up with the ever-changing and stringent water and air quality regulations.




An important factor in our continuance as operating as a working dairy farm, was the decision to join the Clover Stornetta family. With no end in sight to high feed costs, being accepted by Clover Stornetta and joining Clover in the spring of 2012, was a much needed and welcome step for us.





Clover Stornetta was founded in the 1970's.  As a multi-family run operation, they see the value and importance of locally produced milk.  By collecting milk from dairies in Marin and Sonoma counties, they are able to process the milk quickly after receiving it at their creamery and processing plant located just 12 miles to our north, in Petaluma, CA.

As a Clover Stornetta family dairy, we are required to pass the American Humane Certification and maintain that certification for as long as we are a member of Clover . Clover also created the North Coast Excellence Program, which requires its producing dairies to maintain very high quality standards of milk.

It's been almost two years now, since becoming part of the Clover Stornetta family and I wanted to share with you, our change.  If you're local and drink Clover Stornetta Milk or are eating Clover Stornetta butter, yogurt, cheese or ice cream, know that it's coming from our family farm.

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December 8, 2010

A Multiple Generational Gathering of Dairy Women

When Dominic and I were newly married, his Grandma Mary asked me if I would be interested in joining a group she belonged to called North Bay Dairy Women.  North Bay Dairy Women was established in 1965 and is a local organization with the purpose behind it being to educate consumers about dairy and dairy farms and to promote the dairy industry.  This group remains busy year round, some of the activities include participating in events such as Ag Day in surrounding towns, volunteering time at the county fairs, sponsoring scholarships to students pursuing agriculture education, and is also a co-sponsor along with the CA Milk Advisory Board to the District 3 Dairy Princess Contest

Yesterday, Paige and I met my mother-in-law, Annette, my sister-in-law, Lesha and her daughter, Leila, at Mr. Magoos Restaurant in Petaluma to attend the North Bay Dairy Women's annual Christmas luncheon.  A group of 40+ women,  representing multiple generations of dairy women and families were in attendance. 











A short meeting was conducted before lunch.  Both Paige and her cousin, Leila were quiet and well behaved at the "meeting".  Paige is really beginning to get into these "grown up meetings" she is able to attend with me......maybe she'll be a future Dairy Women member, who knows!  And now that Paige is a little older, I hope to volunteer some of my time and become more active with N.B. Dairy Women.



Lunch was served shortly after the meeting concluded.














We were served family style platters of raviolis, chicken, veggies......













and prime rib.













Paige had already eaten her lunch on the car ride over after her gymnastics class, but that didn't stop her from eating another snack with a special request for "meat" and "milk".
There is also a gift exchange at this Christmas luncheon.  Bring a wrapped gift, put your own name on it and receive another gift in exchange.  The gift I received was this adorable Christmas apron from Margaret G.


















We also brought gifts so the girls would have something fun to open as well.  Paige loved her ballerina Barbie and Leila her perfume toting puppy.

A pleasant afternoon was spent enjoying traditions of generations and dairy family history that I am proud to be a part of.


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